Jan. 10, 2014

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TRENTON — Chris Christie rose to power claiming he was above petty politics, but admitted Thursday his closest advisers have not met that standard, apologizing for his staff’s “stupid” behavior.

So far, the George Washington Bridge traffic jams have resulted in one Christie staffer being thrown under the bus. Still, while the Republican governor says he’s ultimately “responsible” for the plot to tie up Fort Lee traffic, he continues to deny any knowledge or involvement in the incident.

How is Christie’s story playing? Patrick Murray, the Monmouth University Polling Institute director, said it’s too early to tell if Christie will lose his place among the front-runners for the GOP 2016 presidential nomination.

“If it stops with this story and nothing else comes out of it, it’s an aberration, and he can go on,” Murray said. “But he’s in a tight spot.”

Christie addressed the biggest scandal of his administration during a nearly two-hour nationally televised news conference Thursday, trying in part to bolster his White House hopes damaged by the lane closings meant as retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, who had refused to endorse Christie’s re-election bid last year.

Christie said he was “embarrassed and humiliated” by the incident and said he had fired Bridget Anne Kelly, his deputy chief of staff whose emails with former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey employee David Wildstein showed evidence of the scheme.

In addition, Christie said he has directed Bill Stepien, his campaign manager, to withdraw his name from consideration for chairman of the state Republican Party and from his consulting role with the Republican Governors Association, which Christie heads.

Christie dodged questions on how Kelly could have worked in secret without other staffers finding out what was being cooked up.

That was something that Assemblywoman Linda Stender, D-Union, found hard to comprehend.

“I don’t believe the governor is being truthful to the people of this state when he denies any knowledge of this incident prior to (Wednesday),” Stender said.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey has opened a review. CNN reported Thursday night that the review includes cooperation with the FBI’s public corruption unit to see if any federal laws were broken. In addition, six state residents filed a federal lawsuit against Christie, the state, the Port Authority and others, calling the traffic jams “deliberate actions.”

Christie was put on the hot seat the previous day when various news outlets obtained emails and text messages that showed the plotting by Kelly and Wildstein.

“I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or its execution, and I am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here,” Christie said. “Regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover, this was handled in a callous and indifferent way and it is not the way this administration has conducted itself over the last four years, and not the way it will conduct itself over the next four.”

In the emails, Kelly on Aug. 13 wrote to Wildstein: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

“Got it,” Wildstein replied.

Wildstein on Thursday appeared before the Assembly Transportation Committee, which is investigating. Wildstein pleaded his Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify.

Christie said Kelly lied to him in December when he asked if anyone on his staff had any knowledge of the lane closures.

“I am heartbroken ... that someone betrayed my trust,” Christie said before a packed crowd at the Statehouse.

Christie on several occasions apologized to residents of the state and Fort Lee. “I come out here today to apologize to the people of New Jersey,” the governor said.

He said he had been duped by Kelly.

Kelly did not respond to a telephone message and email requesting comment.

Christie claimed the incident, presumably targeting Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, “is the exception, this is not the rule of what’s happened in this administration over the last four years.”

Sokolich, he said, was not on his radar for an endorsement and that was why he initially found the allegations absurd and the resulting confirmation of the plot a “mystery.”

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Christie later in the day visited Fort Lee and met with Sokolich. Both men called their 40-minute meeting productive. Christie said he had to work to regain the trust of residents, and Sokolich said his concern is that it never happens again.

The lane closures led to four-hour traffic jams as commuters who normally take back roads to the bridge became stuck in Fort Lee. The Sept. 9 closing also occurred on the first day of school, delaying children who were trying to get to classes. Emergency responders also were delayed, and The Record reported that workers had a difficult time in reaching a 91-year-old woman who later died at the hospital.

Christie said that news was “awful.”

The governor also apologized for making light of the lane closures during a December press conference when he joked that he had set up the detour cones himself. He said today that he did not understand the full implications of what happened.

The incident had renewed criticism that the governor is a political bully, well-practiced in punishing his enemies, but Christie resisted that characterization.

Politics, he said, “ain’t beanbag.”

But critics said the Fort Lee incident showed that the governor’s hard-charging political style was at fault for what happened.

“It’s clear that Chris Christie absolutely created and fostered a culture in his office where this type of conduct was considered appropriate,” said Mo Elleithee, communications director for the Democratic National Committee.